Meatloaf Isn't For Cold Weather Days Anymore

We were talking about grilling meatloaf this week.  I had some meatloaf meat in the freezer.  I figured I could  do this.  I made it Gluten free too.  I sauteed the onions and red peppers in oil.  I used that to stuff the meatloaf along with two pieces of string cheese pulled apart.  We grilled in a foil pain on the grill for about 45 minutes.  We also grilled potatoes.  

The Before picture

 The after the grilling picture.  

 Dinner is ready.  It really was amazing meatloaf.  

We are definately going to make this again.  

Earlier in the morning, I used some Gluten free Bisquick and doctored up the biscuit recipe to make scones.  

I added a little sugar, some almond extract and craisins.  

I made a glaze and added some almond extract too.  

 They were a hit even for the Gluten tolerant people.  I may just do Gluten free all the time

while she is home.  

 Progress on the Grand Old Flag Sampler is going well. No way will it be done for the 4th of July.
I have done a lot of the teeny tiny stitches.  The wording will be over one too.

The weather was really great this weekend.  And it has gone by way too fast.  

That is usually my Sunday night lament.

Looking forward to having time off this weekend.  I do wish it was more.  

Hope you have had a wonderful weekend.  

Thanks for the great comments.

Happy (early) 4th of July

Keep on Stitching

Monica  

I Must Be Nuts...40 Count Over 1

I really must be NUTS.  I decided to do this Chessie and Me on 40 count.  I should have looked at the pattern closer.  That urn I'm working on is done over one.  I'm just doing a half X rather than the full X. The stars were really crazy.  They are Smyna crosses over two threads.  

 It is very tight and don't even try and rip them out!  Next to impossible. 

I have instead decided to turn to flowers for the next section of the blog.  

 I have two peony bushes and one is going like great guns.  The other is in desperate need of some TLC.  I cut a few blooms to bring in.  They are FABULOUS!  I LOVE peonies!

                                    It is criminal that they last for such a short period of time.

 I do believe there is nothing so beautiful.  

 Another picture of one of my wild roses.  

 I have shown this area of my yard lots dressed for winter.  I think it is much prettier now.  

 The whole enchilada

 I was able to catch a few pictures with bees in the flowers.  

 In the morning, these bushes just buzz from the bees.  

 The first Stella D'Oro Daylilly bathed in dew.  

 My patio pots.  They are starting to go.

I got my latest installment of the Ladies Prim Society.  It is a Threadworks Primitives:

Victory Garden Pinkeep 

These are packaged so adorably from Dyeing to Stitch

  Those little touches are just so cool!

 There are two different color fabric pieces to stitch on.  The backing fabric is so cute.  Then
there is a small piece of green ric-rac.  I am telling you this is too cute to be true!

The problem is I have way too much to do and way too little time.  It is hard to take time off work when one of your co-workers doesn't work a full week the entire summer....you know she just deserves to take time off.....SNARF...just crabby, I guess.

Hope you are going to have a great weekend.  I do wish to get some stitching time in.  There is an art show we are planning on going to on Saturday.  The weekends go by so fast.

Thanks for the great comments.  I really do love those.
Keep on Stitching
Monica
P.S. please pardon any typos and grammatical errors.  I am too tired to proof read.  :)

Rhubarb Mania

My rhubarb has not produced well this year.  I think I have more than lamented about that.  I got a huge bag from my Aunt Helen.  I have made two pies, a batch of Rhubarb Strawberry jam and froze 6 cups of chopped rhubarb.  I chopped 20 cups today.  My sister is visiting from Florida and she loves rhubarb pie so, she got one.  I must say I do cheat.  I usually buy the Pillsbury crusts.  When my mother and my aunt ask, I always tell them "of course its homemade."  What they don't know....They can't get over how good my crust is.  My aunt makes major amounts of apple pies in the fall.  I think the record was 70.  Then she freezes them.

The jam recipe can be found HERE.  There ought to be a law against how easy this is.  You chop up 7-8 cups of rhubarb one inch pieces.  This is how mine looked after I let is sit for an hour and a half.

 Once it was cooked.  It is really tasty!

 Getting it into the containers.  I am telling you, it is way too easy!

 It made 8 cups of jam, or so.  I have 1 cup ziploc containers and stuck it in the freezer.  I anticipate it will be gone in now time.  I may have to freeze more rhubarb and make some more at Christmas time.

I made Katy a gluten free Rhubarb pie.  The crust really was quite easy.  I could mix it in my Kitchen Aide which really did make it easy.  I doubled the crust recipe to make a two crust pie.  It has the GF flour, two eggs 12 tbsp butter, lemon juice, sugar and salt.  I kind of was using two recipes.  I refrigerated it for a couple of hours but, I don't think I need to do that.  I think it actually would have been better had I not done that.  

You roll the crust between wax paper.  The crust is a little delicate.  It cracked around the edge while rolling it.   

 It was also a little fragile when moving the crust.  We had a little glitch putting the top on.  I should have folded it on itsself and I don't think I would have had that problem.  It really did turn out pretty good.  It is tasty enough that I will make this crust as long as Katy is home.  It is just a tad gritty but, very tasty and flaky.  After I had baked it for a while, I covered the edges with aluminum foil so it wouldn't burn around the edge.

Lastest Garden Update:  

My wild roses are starting to bloom.  I love these roses.  Once they start really blooming they are a riot!  I have been out watering and people walking always comment and want to know what they are.  They are also very aromatic.  After a while that get a  rather large green bug, not an aphid....more beatley-looking (if that is a word.)  There are a lot and are into bug-lovin'.  Sometimes I spray them, not so much anymore because they really don't do that much damage.  

 This isn't a very good picture.  If course I'm not sure what they are.  I really do love blue flowers.  I use to have some delphinium but, they have died off.  At the other end of the bed is another blue flower I think is Campanula

 My peonies in the front of the house are about readdy.  I think that you just can't have enough flowers.  I wish I had room for more but, the husband doesn't want beds in the middle of the yard.  I personally think that looks very cool.

Finally, I have a picture of the latest project:  Grande Olde Flag Sampler by Chessie and Me.  I nearly have the house done.  I'm doing it on 40 count.  I swapped out the Belle Soie and Gloriana silks for overdyes.  I think it will turn out quite well.  I am using Weeks Aztec Red, Cognac, Charcoal, Guacamole, Moss, Navy and Whitewash and GAST Cornflower and Soot.  It seems to be a good match.

Thank you so much for the fun and wonderful comments.  I just love getting them.
Hope you had an awesome weekend.  I certainly did but, as always, it was way too short.  I walk into Monday saying, "I could have used another day."  I could have a seven day weekend and it would still be too short.

Very busy week ahead.  I'm wishing my life away and looking forward to next weekend.
Thanks for stopping.
Keep on Stitching
Monica

The Poppies Have Popped

Yesterday, the poppies started to bloom.  It took me a long time to figure out where to put them.  A few years ago, I put them in the south bed next to a ground rose.  The rose wasn't doing so hot either but, together, they are quite a team.  The rose likes being in the shade of the poppy.  It won't bloom for a month yet but, it has a ton of buds.

 The first year, after I transplanted it, it had one pod.  Miraculously, it opened one morning.  I was so excited!  I called the family.  They all came running.  Our old big dog was out at the same time I called them.  As he was walking by the flower, HE JUST BIT IT OFF!!!!  He then kind of just spit it out.  

 I didn't know whether to laugh, cry or kill him.  

I just love them.  They are perfect.   

 It is really too bad that they don't last longer.  

They always kind of die back and look like they could rebloom but, never do.  

The ladies of Twisted Sisters bead shop just came back from the Bead Show in Milwaukee and brought back some dandy new things.  I had to stop and check it out.  Katy strongly recommended I stop in and check it out.  The top three strands are Katy's and the bottom three are mine.  They are really fun and whimsical.

These beads are very cool.  I did make my brights into a bracelet today.  I didn't use the yellow beads because it would have been too long.  The pictures don't really capture all the life and shine.

 I finished my Threadworks Primitives Happy 4th.  Tight squeeze but, it'll work.  I'm hoping to have the time to finish it into a pinkeep.  I have so many things to finish I'm going to try and take a week off from work and finish things if I can.  I need to see how much time I have accrued.  Bob can't usually take any time off in the summer since it is his busiest time.

Hope you all have been having a good week.  Thank you for the wonderful comments.  I really enjoy them!  

Have a great weekend.  It is suppose to be very humid and kind of on the warm side.  

Keep on Stitching!

Monica

It is Finally Finished!

Prairie Schooler June is finally finished and FRAMED!  

I don't know why it seemed to take so long.  I am glad to be done.

It did turn out cute.  I like the bird border at the bottom.  

My Wiegela bush is blooming.  I love the flowers on these bushes.

 I have two in front of the house with the varigated leaves and light pink flowers.  

 I have one in a raised bed in the back yard.  It has darker leaves and I think the flowers are a 

very dark pink.  

I have gotten a start on my Threadwork Primitive Happy 4th.
Once the Father's Day guests go home tonight, I may work on finding the threads
for my Chessie and Me piece.
(Was is this so small?  Can't get it larger.)

 I have all the prep work done for dinner tonight.  I baked a Rhubarb Pie, made potato salad and have the veggies ready to go.  Going to grill some beef tenderloin on the grill.  Should be yummy.

Hope you have had a great weekend.
I get to sit for a few minutes and maybe pick up the stitching.
Keep on Stitching!
Monica

Just Not Moving That Fast

It's coming, it's coming but, just not fast enough.  Are there more stitches in this one than usual???  I got some of the brown border done last night at stitching group.  Speaking of the stitching group....Patty was talking about a group in town.  Now mind you the population of Iron Mountain/Kingsford is less than 20,000 maybe somewhere between 10.000-15,000 (I don't know, I could look it up but, I'm lazy). There is a group of people that get together and bring in small musical groups.  I guess the 18th century French would have called it a "Salon".  Patty's son is friends with a kid whose parents are involved in this group.  I said I have heard of this group from our neighbors who are in this group.  Their daughter is a singer in a Bluegrass group (they are really good) who was at the last "salon".  (Did you follow all that?)  I said there are all kinds of little groups around town you never hear about...I know of a film group that meet at a bar on Mondays when its closed, a political science group, and lots of book clubs.  You just have to know people.  And then I said, "We are a group that people find intriguing."  And Arttie said her boss was fascinated by our group and wanted to know what the topic would be last night.  Who knows, nothing is planned.  

 I am chomping at the bit to start some new projects.  Here is what is in the hopper.  I have the thread and fabric all ready to go...

 This is done in Gloriana Silk but, I think I'm going to convert it to some overdyes.  I'm not sure what ones yet.  I think I will also do it on 40 count so it fits in a 5x7 picture frame.

I did not get any stitching done yet today.  I want and so does Katy, her to see a Pain Clinic doctor.  She is in pain all the time with her Ehlers-Danlos and needs a way to better manage the pain.  We found a physician in Milwaukee at a multidisciplinary program that has experience in treating Ehlers-Danlos people but, (here is the caveat) she needed to be referred by a physician in the system.  (Oh brother, I'm sure to rule out the inappropriate people?)  So were drove 3 1/2 hours one way to see my old doctor.  We can now say we have a referral from a system physician.  We did take a little time and shop at H&M and Trader Joe's (love their hummus and cheap wine!)  Today, I brought home guacamole hummus and blue chips, and GF flour.

That's all.  I need to stitch!
Hope you have had a great week!  Looking forward to the weekend!  Oi, I have a 7:45 client tomorrow morning, ick I wish it was 9 instead.

Keeps on Stitching
Monica

Fluffing The Garden Up

It was a very nice day yesterday.  Bob and I spent the morning running errands, consolidating trips since gas is $4.19 a gallon.  That is the highest I have seen it around here.  After lunch we did yard work.  We bought 30 bags of cypress mulch last weekend.  We started spreading it out yesterday.  Bob would load it in the wheel barrel for me and get it to the bed I wanted it.  I would cut the bag open and spread it.  I spread 18 bags yesterday.  Everything always looks nice and fluffy after that.

I am a little sore today, you know those hidden muscles.  

  The coral bells have survived the move from a couple of weeks ago.     

 Autumn Sedum and Cranesbill under the Crabapple tree.  Not much 

likes to grow under it.  

 Some old roses that were overtaking the coral bells.  There are baby plants 

around the original plant.  They will continue to spread I'm sure.  It is okay because 

it really has a pretty, simple, and aromatic rose.

Too bad it blooms for such a short time.

A really spectacular hanging basket.  I have no idea what it is.

They look like a type of petunia.  

I was hopping to get a little more stitching done.  I did make

a sizeable dent in the grass.  I will be able to finish it this week.

I did get the latest Virtue in the Little House series.  The sheep is very cute.  I am anxious to get a start.   I also have some patriotic pieces for the Fourth of July.

Thanks for the great comments.  I appreciate the nice comments and the time you take.
Hope you have had a wonderful stitchy weekend!  There just never is enough time.

Have a great week
Keep on stitching
Monica